


Stardust

by fountainkeds



Category: Starfighter (Comic)
Genre: M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-06
Updated: 2013-04-06
Packaged: 2017-12-07 15:19:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/750013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fountainkeds/pseuds/fountainkeds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cain surprises Abel with a little present to help them both focus on other things besides impending doom and their duties.</p>
<p>Kind of songfic, because ugh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stardust

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, ok, ok. I'm not usually a big fan of songfics. But then I saw THIS (http://ridachan.deviantart.com/art/I-live-to-let-you-shine-161799171)  
> I listened to the song,  
> and I seriously just had to.
> 
> Everything belongs to HamletMachine :)

Keeler told me I work too hard. He told me he's been where I am, been hopeful to the point of denial and determined to the point of self deception. I responded, with as much respect I could muster, that I didn't know what he meant. I continued to stare at the black and green screen in front of me, no longer tapping and instead focused on the creeping feeling of defeat going up my spine. The sensation of Keeler's eyes boring into the back of my head, the sudden chill in the room, and the screen dimming all told me I should stop, but I didn't know if I could. 

 "It just seems like you're overworking yourself, Abel. I've been noticing the bags under your eyes getting heavier everyday. I'm starting to worry about you being prepared for battle once we reach Colteron space. That is the whole point you're even here." His whispers were quiet and his grip on my shoulder was soft.

 I turned and looked at him then. He seemed green and sick himself from the lights of the computers bouncing against the starkness of his pallor, standing out in the dark and now empty room. His silver plait lay lifelessly over his shoulder, and his eyes looked like gray stones in shallow rivers, heavy and sunken. I almost felt bad and gave into his request, but I thought about my assignment. I thought about the device. I thought about Cain.

 "I always get the necessary amount of sleep, sir. Honestly, I'm alright. I have to map out a couple more designs for the engine configurations, and then I will go straight to my quarters." Inside, I was almost screaming. _I have to get this right, can't you see? Everyone is depending on me._

 "Honestly, so stubborn. You'll be dead before we even get to battle." But he gave a small smile regardless. "Just be sure to get a good night's rest sometime soon." 

 He took his hand off my shoulder, and leaned away as if he was leaving. I turned back to the screen, images of data and codes going on and on into an infinity behind the glass.

"And Abel…"  he paused for a long moment, as if deciding whether he should be saying anything after all. "Don't lose sleep over things that seem impossible to attain, because nothing ever is. I know you already know that, but it doesn't hurt to remind you." Another long pause. Then, "Goodnight, remember to rest."

 I heard the swoosh of an opening door, and clacking of boots against metal floor, getting fainter and fainter until all I could hear was the sound of my own uneven breathing and the faint buzz of machines. 

 

***

The Sleipnir's halls were mostly empty, save for a couple of fighters and navigators who were also probably doing overtime themselves. I ran into Ethos outside his room. He looked preoccupied, holding a bunch of papers. He saw me, smiled and waved, which I returned as sincerely as I could. I was relieved when he made no further effort to interact with me. He must be tired too. I wondered briefly if he ever bettered things with his fighter but then I realized I was too tired to think about that and continued walking to my room.

 " _Stop calling it your room. It's our room."_

 I smiled in spite of myself, in spite of my heavy legs and stinging eyes, because damn it, _he_ could make me smile even when I'm all liquified and soulless after a long day. 

 As I walked down the corridor, I already knew full well the room would be empty once I opened the door and clicked on the light. But I can't help but stop myself outside of it and press my ear against the metallic sliding panels. I must look like an idiot, listening in for any sounds and sighing disappointedly when I can't hear his little Russian murmurings or the hiss of a cigarette being lit. I know he wouldn't be back for another hour at least. It's almost always exactly an hour. I know because I can't help but glance over at the clock every five minutes, not wanting to admit to myself that I am in fact anticipating his return. 

 I _am_ an idiot. 

 I close the door behind me and throw myself (not a very far distance) on to _our_ bed. I laid down on my stomach, burying my head into the pillows and sheets. I breathed in our combined scent, because no one is here to see me do it and Keeler's words were still replaying in my head and I wanted to just forget for a while. Forget that I was over worked, forget about what exactly I thought was possible or impossible, because it hurt to think about that a little.

 "Are the sheets not clean? We haven't even dirtied them up yet tonight."

 I all but jumped out of my skin, not able to keep the small yelp from escaping my mouth. He must get a kick out of giving me heart attacks. When I looked over my shoulder to see him, he was all smiles and smug eyes with a towel draped over his broad shoulders and donning nothing but his black briefs. He stood in the doorframe of our bathroom, arms crossed in front of his chest like he was a god.

 I decided to ignore his question. The cocky bastard. 

 "I thought you were still running drills with Encke."

 "Yeah, yeah..I was." he took the towel off his shoulders and threw it on the ground and crawled into bed next to me. "But he told me to leave early. Some gay shit about me having to rest up."

 "Funny, Keeler told me the same thing." I turned my face to the side, smiling ( _idiot_ ) and staring at him as he reclined on his back and put his hands behind his head. 

 "Well, Keeler's actually right about you. You don't even leave that fucking computer alone when you're in here. At least I don't beat you up when I come back to the room." His turn to smile and look at me.

 "If you did, I'd report you so fast your head would spin."

 "Tch. And here I was thinking you enjoyed all the rough fucking I give you." 

 "You're so crude."

 "And you're the sluttiest prude I know, princess." 

 He pulled me, roughly bringing my body closer to his and playing with my shirt zipper with his other hand. I felt the heat growing on my cheeks, and found myself unable to look into his obsidian eyes. But he can't have that. He likes it when I watch him undo me. He gruffly grabbed my chin and tilted my head back, as gentle as Cain could (because bless him, he can't do _tender_ ) and kissed me. It was slow and built up in heat, like steam. He nipped my bottom lip, and bought his own further down to the junction of my neck. I moaned against my will, having it ripped out of me like a secret.

 "Cain…" I whispered, hoping the need I felt was evidenced enough through my voice so I wouldn't have to beg. Not tonight.

 "Shh, baby. I have a little surprise first." he says evenly as he starts to pull away.

 "A what?" I suddenly sit up. Had I heard correctly? Cain doesn't do surprises. 

 "A surprise, Тупой*. Wait here a second."  He got up from the bed and walked back into the bathroom. 

 I was almost too afraid to think this was really happening. _Cain isn't doing something nice or thoughtful. It's probably just porn. Or booze. That's the surprise. It has to be._ When he came back, I was still in bed and too stunned to move, but he was hiding something behind his back and I knew it couldn't be porn because Cain wouldn't hide porn. And then I got really nervous, because if it's not porn or booze, what the hell is it?

 "Close your eyes."

 "Ok." 

 "Hold out your hands like a good little girl."

 I did. I felt something small and smooth being put in my palms, but I didn't open my eyes. I waited for him to say it, not wanting to ruin this moment. Not yet. Because fuck, Cain got me a fucking present.

 I felt him lean into me, putting his hands on either side of my thighs and whispered in my ear, "Open your eyes."

 It was a little white rectangle, with a broken screen and outdated LCD screen. 

 "Is this seriously what I think it is?" I looked up at him questioningly.

 "If you're thinking it's an mp3 player, then yep. Right as usual, princess."

 "Cain…how…these were made obsolete years before you and I were even born, and were only produced on Earth… They never even reached the Colonies." 

 Ever since I was young I'd been obsessed with antiques of all kinds. Watches, televisions, and telephones especially. I loved to take them apart and rebuild them, figure out how it all worked and made a challenge out of making them work again. I loved to take broken things and make the better. Mp3 players were especially hard to come by, and I was never able to get my hands on one.

 Now here I was, years later. In possession of one, given to me by Cain no less, and it left me utterly speechless.

 "Encke actually let me borrow it. Just for ,uh, tonight. He said it could help with relaxing."

 I nodded, still staring at the little device, not sure if I trusted myself with looking at  him yet. I couldn't decide if I was excited about Cain or by the thought of being able to listen to music after so long.

 "I..I want you to pick the song we get to listen to first." 

 "I already know which one." He took it and swirled his finger on top of the screen, laying it back down on the bed between us. "I, um, was listening to it in the shower before. I thought of you. I don't know why, but I did."

 Soft and sweet guitar notes began to fill our little room, alien sounds in our dark corner of an even darker ship, floating around in the darkest part of the universe. It was so moving and the situation so beautiful (for _us_ ) that it took all the strength in me to not cry. 

 "Cain, I don't know what to say…"

 

_If you be my star_

_I'll be your sky_

_you can hide underneath me and come out at night_

_when I turn jet black and you show off your light_

_I live to let you shine_

 

"Just don't say anything." he said, tense all of a sudden. As if he just realized what he'd done, what gates he'd opened and regretted it. But then he just laid us both down on our backs and placed his arms around me and my panic began ebbing away. 

 Maybe this is what Keeler meant when he said nothing was unattainable. Like Cain. Like winning this war. Like surviving. Was today all just some kind of cosmic kismet? How funny would it be, if the closer we got to death and war, the more we'd...

 I heard Cain grunt next to me, felt him grabbing at the waistband of my pants. All the little thoughts vanished then, and all the mattered was me and him and the soft sounds floating in the air. 

 "I'm going to fuck you so hard when this is over."

 

_You can skyrocket away from me_

_and never come back if you find another galaxy_

_far from here with more room to fly_

_just leave me your stardust to remember you by_

**Author's Note:**

> *Тупой- Russian for stupid


End file.
